Current state of SH5 between Napier and Taupo. Video / Mike Scott
Residents on State Highway 5 are guarding diggers and trucks vital to the restoration of the Napier-Taupō link amid fears of looting following Cyclone Gabrielle.
They have also followed in the example of several communities across Hawke’s Bay by setting up checkpoints along the road during the night to prevent looters from gaining access to valuable equipment.
It comes as Prime Minister Chris Hipkins urges the public not to panic, condemning claims from Opposition parties that areas of the region have become lawless with people seeking to take advantage of flood-stricken families.
The Herald travelled south along SH5 from Te Pōhue to observe the damage that forced its closure soon after the cyclone hit.
Several slips have damaged SH5. Photo / Mike Scott
More than a week after Gabrielle reached the region, crews had clearly been hard at work for several days. Debris that had once been strewn across the road had been shifted to the side to allow a passage for machinery.
Several slips have eaten away large chunks of the road. With dust in abundance, travelling behind vehicles was hazardous as dust clouds masked any obstacles on the road.
Resident Paul Bicknell, who lived just north of the Glengarry Rd turnoff, woke on Tuesday last week to see the cyclone had created a roughly 15-metre crater where his driveway would normally be.
Fortunately, he and other neighbours were able to access the highway through a paddock.
Paul Bicknell, who lives on State Highway 5, has had his driveway decimated in a slip after Cyclone Gabrielle. Photo / Mike Scott
“I’m not even certain how it’s going to get fixed, someone else can do that,” the 69-year-old retired psychiatric nurse said.
Bicknell commented on how empty the usually-bustling highway was, except for the volleys of diggers and dump trucks.
“It’s quite unusual for it to be this quiet, usually thousands of cars going by.”
One worker told the Herald their crew had dug their way out of their base at the Harapaki windfarm on the Maungaharuru Range before relocating to the highway to assist in the clean-up.
He estimated the 20 dump trucks he was co-ordinating were carting up to 10 cubic metres per load. While he couldn’t put a number on how many loads had been accomplished, the worker said the crew had been putting in 12-hour days since late last week.
Dust was becoming more common as the weather improved in Hawke's Bay and it cooked the silt. Photo / Mike Scott
The worker also said local residents had started an overnight watch at the yard where vehicles and equipment were kept, alongside checkpoints near the area.
National, Act and New Zealand First had all called for the army presence in Hawke’s Bay to be boosted in response to reports of crime following the cyclone.
Hipkins was quick to dispel rumours of widespread crime in the region, saying police had assured him levels of crime were not out of hand.
He denied there was a “state of lawlessness” in the area and was confident the situation was “under control”.
